THE GOOD SHEPHERD – Part 1
First Baptist Church of Tawas City Michigan
Rev. Bruce A. Shields
www.TawasBaptist.org
• Psalm 23
1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
PRAYER
This last weekend Terri and I were in Ohio at her mothers.
She owns quite a bit of property, and we camped on top of one of the highest hills. I’m not sure what the difference between a hill and the beginning of a mountain is, but this is probably close.
• From this peak you can see for miles to the east and north.
About 400 feet or so below us is the pasture where the cows and pigs are.
I woke the first morning before the sun was up and built a fire.
I sat in a chair and watched the sliver of a moon slowly disappear as the sun came up.
I couldn’t help but think of God’s greatness.
• On the way to Terri’s mothers, we saw quite few fields with sheep.
I often wonder why there doesn’t seem to be a need for Shepard’s today?
Perhaps it’s because there isn’t a threat, or they are protected because of the fences.
3,000 years ago it was a different story though.
Psalm 23 is one of the most recognized passages in the Bible; many can even quote it word for word.
Most of us learned it as children and it continues to be a comfort to those who are dying, or those who have lost loved ones.
I think it’s so well loved because it’s so personal.
Unfortunately, we live in a society where tending sheep is not the high demand job it once was.
So, most of us probably don’t even know a Shepherd.
Because of this, we may lose a little bit of the meaning that David intended when he wrote these words.
This morning, some of what I will be sharing with you concerning the life of a shepherd has come from a book by Phillip Keller entitled A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23.
Phillip grew up and lived in East Africa where he was surrounded by sheep herders similar to those in the Middle East.
As a young man he spent eight years of his own life as a sheep owner and rancher, so the insights that he is able to bring into the subject will, I think, help us understand what David probably felt as he wrote these words, The Lord is my Shepherd.
1. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.
As you know, David himself was a shepherd. He was known as the “Shepherd King” of Israel. But he saw the Lord, God of Israel, as his Shepherd.
He speaks in the Psalm as if he was one of the flock, one of the sheep. And it is as though he boasted aloud, “Look who my Shepherd is – my owner – The Lord!”
Because David knew from first hand experience that the lot of any particular sheep depends on the type of man who owns it.
Under one man, sheep might struggle, starve and suffer endless hardships. But those same sheep under another Shepherd, they may flourish and thrive contentedly.
He chose us, He bought us, He calls us by name, He makes us his own and He delights in taking care of us.
This last aspect is really what this Psalm is all about.
How the Lord takes care of us. So David continues by saying, “I shall not want.”
The idea here is the Lord supplies our every need.
In his book, I Shall Not Want by Robert T. Ketchum, Ketchum tells a story of a Sunday school teacher who asked her class if anyone could quote the entire twenty-third Psalm.
A child stood, faced the class and said, “The Lord is my Shepherd, that’s all I want.”
Although she overlooked a few verses there, I believe that she captured David’s heart in Psalm 23.
The Idea is that we are utterly contented in the Shepherd’s care and there is nothing else we desire.
Notice here that our Lord supplies our every NEED, not our every want.
As Paul told the Philippians,
• Philippians 4:19
“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus…”
This is the same God who sustained the children of Israel, the one who fed Elijah by the brook, the one who provided the needs of the disciples sent out without staff or shoes, He has promised to provide our needs both physical and spiritual.
Jehovah-Jira – God is my provider!
I wonder how many of us today would answer God’s call without taking our own provisions.
Thinking that in some vain way WE can provide for ourselves?
When will we realize that it’s not by our doing, but by the Lord’s provisions that we receive from HIS riches and glory?
Let me tell you what a good shepherd is like. He loves his sheep. For him there is no greater reward, no deeper satisfaction, than that of seeing his sheep contented, well fed, safe and flourishing in his care.
That’s what his life is all about, and he gives everything he has to it.
He goes to a great deal of trouble to provide them with the finest grazing, ample winter feed and clean water. He provides shelter from the storms, protection from the enemies and the diseases and parasites to which they are susceptible.
From early dawn till the late night the good shepherd is alert to the welfare of his flock.
He gets up in the early morning and goes and looks over his flock. He examines the sheep to see if they are fit and content and able to be on their feet.
At night he sleeps with one eye and both ears open, ready at the least sign of trouble to get up and protect his sheep.
• That, is the kind of shepherd we have. Jesus says;
John 10:11
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures
It’s not easy to make a sheep lie down.
For a sheep to lie down, the fowling is a must;
1. They must be free from all fear.
Like sheep, we also are easily frightened. We live in an uncertain life. Any hour can bring disaster.
But nothing quiets our souls like knowing our Shepherd is near.
• Our Lord is with us;
Romans 8:15
“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”
We are to have peace and assurance in our Shepherd.
He leads us beside still waters.
Sheep will not drink from noisy, turbulent water. They require a well or slow-flowing stream.
Jesus made it clear that the thirsty souls of men and women can only be fully satisfied by coming to Him.
• John 7:37
“If any man thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”
Our good shepherd leads us to still waters.
3. He restoreth my soul.
We stumble, we fall, we become helpless in our lives. And yet our shepherd is patient and tender and helpful in getting us back on our feet.
We are currently studying Daniel in Bible Study, and at our last class we were discussing Chapter 4 of Daniel which was actually written by Nebuchadnezzar.
Chapter 4 of Daniel is a picture of deliverance and God’s grace.
God gave Nebuchadnezzar a second dream in which a great tree was cut down.
God was telling Nebuchadnezzar that if he did not make God the king of his heart, he would lose his throne.
God gave him his grace.
God’s grace is NOT God’s approval.
To many times in life people are unwilling to change their ways because they believe since God has not stopped them, it must be OK.
Nebuchadnezzar thought this very thing.
God’s grace allowed him to keep his kingdom and afforded him time to change, for 12 months God gave his grace, NOT HIS APPROVAL.
But God’s grace ended when the King said with his mouth what had been in his heart.
God gives us His grace, and guides us to where He wants us to be.
But His grace is not cheap, and His grace is not His approval of your life.
Our shepherd wants to restore us.
Restore us to what?
Restore us to a relation ship with our Father in heaven.
4. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
If sheep are left to themselves, they will continue to graze on the same hill until it is a desert.
We are like the sheep, we prefer to follow our own fancies and turn to our own ways.
• Isaiah 53:6
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.”
But we are not left alone to our own way, because the Lord has shown us the path of righteousness.
He leads us as any great shepherd would, though example.
• 1 Peter 2:21
“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps.”
Follow our shepherd’s steps, as He leads us in the way we should go.
That way is narrow, and can seem treacherous.
5. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.
There are going to be valley’s in our lives. Some have many, some have few, but we all have them.
And we all have the shadow of death looming over us for we all must one day die.
• Hebrews 9:27
“It is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment.”
Although we may not know the time, we know it is coming. But we can rest, fearless because we know we are going to meet our good shepherd.
We will fear no evil, because He is with us.
We will fear no evil, because we know our destination.
However, you can only be close to the Lord at death if you are close to Him in life.
6. They rod and thy staff they comfort me.
A rod was a type of club. It was used for fending off predators.
But it was also used for discipline. If a sheep wonders away or gets too close to some danger, the rod is thrown to send the sheep back to the flock.
Remember a couple weeks ago, we read the scriptures about how the Lord disciplines those He loves.
• If He didn’t love us, he would allow us to do what ever we wanted and bring ourselves harm.
But this is not the case, when the Lord sees us heading in a direction other than His path of safety and righteousness, His discipline comes like that from a father to a child.
We will continue with Part 2 at a later time.
Let’s close praying Psalm 23
CLOSING PRAYER
Lord,
Because thou art my shepherd, I commit my needs to thee.
Provide green pastures for me to lie in, lead me beside still waters.
Restore my soul when I’m empty, lead me in righteousness for your name’s sake.
Be with me in danger when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
Deliver me from evil, and protect me with your rod and staff.
Prepare a table to feed me so my enemies can see your provision.
Anoint me with the oil of your healing; Let me drink from the full cup of your provision.
Surely goodness and mercy will always follow me, and I will live with you forever.
AMEN.
